Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3,723.41.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,850.00 target price on shares of Booking in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Booking from $3,080.00 to $3,610.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $3,950.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Booking from $3,600.00 to $4,100.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Booking from $3,550.00 to $3,900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Booking Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $3,415.64 on Friday. Booking has a 52-week low of $2,456.93 and a 52-week high of $3,918.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3,531.58 and a 200 day moving average of $3,395.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.40.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $32.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $29.72 by $2.28. Booking had a net margin of 20.08% and a negative return on equity of 751.49%. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $24.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Booking will post 176.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $8.75 dividend. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Radakovich Lynn Vojvodich sold 22 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,583.07, for a total transaction of $78,827.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $756,027.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paulo Pisano sold 300 shares of Booking stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,485.00, for a total transaction of $1,045,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,752,005. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,461 shares of company stock valued at $18,815,825 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Booking

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKNG. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Booking by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 4 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Booking by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Booking during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Booking by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.